StoreboardStoreboard/App Store localization
App Store localization
Most apps ship English screenshots to the entire planet. It's the largest, cheapest conversion leak in the store — and fixing it also happens to buy you extra keyword fields.
A localization is not just a translation. It's a separate screenshot set, a separate description, and a separate 100-character keyword field. Localizing is as much an SEO move as a language one.
On this page
Why localize the listing at all
You don't need to translate your app to localize your listing. Those are two separate jobs, and the listing is by far the cheaper one. Your product page is where someone decides whether to tap Get — and they decide in seconds, mostly from the first two screenshots. If those captions are in a language they don't read, you've lost before your app's quality is ever considered.
This is why listing-only localization is such a good trade: the work is measured in hours, it ships without a new build for some fields, and it applies to every market at once.
Every localization is another keyword field
This is the argument that convinces people who don't care about translation. Each localization carries its own 100-character keyword field. Add English (UK), English (AU) and English (CA), and you now have four English keyword fields instead of one — each targeting a different storefront, with different competitors and different search habits.
"Torch" in the UK. "Flashlight" in the US. Same language, different words, different rankings. Leaving those localizations empty doesn't keep things simple — it just hands the ranking to whoever did fill them in.
Captions and descriptions translate well. Keywords don't. A literal translation of your English terms is usually wrong, because people search using their own words for the problem. Each country's field deserves its own research. How that research works →
The App Store language list
The App Store supports roughly 40 localizations. The ones worth knowing about:
| Group | Localizations |
|---|---|
| English | US · UK · Australia · Canada |
| Spanish | Spain · Mexico |
| French | France · Canada |
| Portuguese | Brazil · Portugal |
| Chinese | Simplified · Traditional |
| Major single markets | German · Japanese · Korean · Italian · Dutch · Russian · Turkish · Arabic · Hindi |
| Nordics | Swedish · Danish · Norwegian · Finnish |
| Rest of Europe | Polish · Greek · Czech · Hungarian · Romanian · Ukrainian · Croatian · Slovak · Catalan |
| Southeast Asia & other | Thai · Vietnamese · Indonesian · Malay · Hebrew |
Which languages to do first
Ignore the "top 10 app markets" listicles and use this order instead:
- The English variants (UK, AU, CA). Near-zero effort — your copy is already written. Pure keyword-field gain.
- Wherever you already have users. Check your own analytics. Existing traction in a market means the demand is proven; you're just removing friction.
- The big four: German, French, Spanish, Japanese. Large, wealthy, high-intent App Store markets.
- Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Brazilian Portuguese. Huge markets, but expect genuinely different competitive dynamics.
- Everything else, once you know localization is working for you.
The mistake is doing fifteen languages at once for an app with no traction anywhere. Localization multiplies existing demand — it rarely creates it from nothing.
Localize screenshots and metadata in one pass
Storeboard translates your captions and full listing into every language, keeps a researched keyword set per country, and exports every locale at Apple's exact pixel sizes — all on your Mac.
Download for MacHow to do it without an agency
1. Write the English listing properly first
Everything downstream inherits its quality. A vague English subtitle becomes fifteen vague subtitles.
2. Translate captions and description
Modern AI translation is more than good enough for short marketing copy — and it is unquestionably better than shipping English to a market that doesn't read it. Keep captions short; they must survive German compounds and Japanese line breaks without overflowing your design.
3. Research keywords per country — don't translate them
The one step that genuinely differs per market. See keyword research.
4. Re-export every screenshot per language
Each localization needs its own set at Apple's exact sizes. Four device families × fifteen languages is up to 60 sets — the reason most teams stop at English. It should be one export, not sixty.
5. Check the design didn't break
Translated text is longer than English roughly 80% of the time. A caption that fits perfectly in English will wrap in German and knock your layout apart. Look at every language before you ship.
FAQ
Do I have to translate the app itself?
No. The listing localizes independently. Plenty of apps run an English interface with a fully localized product page, and still see a lift — because the decision to download happens on the product page, not inside the app.
Is AI translation good enough for App Store metadata?
For captions and marketing copy, generally yes — and vastly better than no localization. For keywords, no: research them per country instead. If a market becomes important to your revenue, a human review pass is money well spent.
Will localizing hurt me if the translation is imperfect?
An awkward-but-clear translation beats an unreadable foreign language every time. The risk isn't imperfect phrasing — it's leaving a market looking at English screenshots.
Can I localize screenshots but not the description?
Yes, each piece of metadata is independent. But screenshots and subtitle are where the decision gets made, so if you only do part of the job, do those.